Cupcakes!

A lot of times with my gluten free baking experiments, I start by trying out someone else's recipe as a base (gluten free or not), then tweak and modify it until I get something better. But sometimes a recipe actually works so well it needs (almost) no modifications. These cupcakes I made tonight are the best I've ever had- gluten or not. The recipe is not mine, and is published in a cookbook that I don't have permission to reprint. But I can tell you, it is from Babycakes NYC, and you can find the recipe on Gwenyth Paltrow's website GOOP right here. I was amazed because the last batch of cupcakes I made had some of the same ingredients, but turned into bricks, unsuitable for human consumption.

I wasn't sure I believed all the hype about Babycakes, but the fans are right, this recipe is the real deal. Of course, one look at the ingredient list, and you gluten free bakers out there can quickly see that these are not cheap to make. Making these regularly could break the bank, so you may want to put this recipe in your special occasions folder. I hate to mess with such a good thing, but I'm already thinking of ways I could make this cupcake just as delicious, but more affordable. Stay tuned.

p.s. Besides being gluten free, these are refined sugar free (sweetened with agave and applesauce), dairy free and even vegan- or at least they were until I put cream cheese frosting on them!

Steak and (Sweet) Potatoes

Okay, here it is, simple, but delicious. While on our way home from the beach, I stopped by a little market I love called Harvest Fresh out in McMinnville. They always have this cut of steak I can't seem to find anywhere else called "Teres Major" which is sometimes called "Petite Tender". It's a cut from the shoulder and it is second in tenderness only to the filet mignon. It was on sale for $6.99 a pound, yes!

My recipe was inspired by Oba restaurant in Portland. They make a Cuban flank steak with boniato mash. Here's what I did:

1. Marinate 1 piece of teres major (about 3/4 pound) with the juice of 1 lime, 2 cloves garlic and about a tablespoon of honey for about 2 hours. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Season with salt and pepper and sear the steak on all sides and then put on a sheet pan with a rack in the oven.

2. Peel and boil 1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound). When cooked enough to put a fork through drain and mash (or run through a ricer or food mill). Add butter (or substitute) and enough milk substitute (I used coconut) to reach a smooth consistency. Season with garlic powder, salt, pepper and a dash of cumin powder.

3. Thinly slice 1 medium onion and dust the onion with a mixture of rice flour and cornstarch to coat. Fry the onions in about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Cook them like hashbrowns- allow them to brown on 1 side, then flip. Drain on paper towel.

4. Once the steak has reached medium rare (145 degrees) remove the steak from the oven. Let it rest at least 5 minutes, then slice into about 10-12 medallions. Serve with the sweet potato mash and top with the frizzled onions. I also served it with a compound butter (you could use a substitute) made with the juice of half a lime, salt, cumin and pepper.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Lower GI)

I've been trying for quite a while now to perfect a chocolate chip cookie that is gluten free and has less processed sugar than other cookies. After experimenting with agave nectar, honey and date sugar, I finally remembered something I'd seen at a local Thai/Asian store- Palm Sugar. I did some research and found out that not only does palm sugar act more like regular sugar than anything else I've tried, it also has a much higher nutrient content and lower Glycemic Index (some report as low as 35) than most of the alternative sweeteners I've tried. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a good sugar free chocolate chip that isn't sweetened with grain (not gluten free), so the cookie still has a bit of regular sugar. The next step will probably be making my own chocolate chips. Try the recipe- you'll swear it isn't gluten free.

Flour mix:

1 part rice flour

1/2 part tapioca flour

1/4 part modified tapioca starch (Expandex- sub corn or potato starch if needed)

Recipe:

2 1/4 cups flour mix (see above)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xantham gum

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups palm sugar (ground in food processor)

1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract

2 large eggs

12 ounces dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, xantham gum) in a bowl. Beat butter, palm sugar and vanilla extract in stand mixer or large bowl with hand mixer until creamed. Add the eggs, one at a time until mixed well. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture gradually. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop about a tablespoon of batter per cookie onto a sheet pan.

3. Bake about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then enjoy. Or move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely for storage.